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Search - Citizen Girl
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Citizen Girl Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Abridged), Audio CD (Abridged), Paperback
Book Description:
From Amazon.com
Citizen Girl is the sophomore effort from Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, whose Nanny Diaries sent Park Avenue mothers running for cover and catapulted the duo to cult-like status amongst gossip literature's elite. This time around, our heroine is Girl, a twentysomething women's studies major whose liberal arts education led her to believe that saving women from worldwide oppression was as easy as reporting for duty at her local feminist non-profit. As Girl soon learns, no job is ever as it seems, and even the director of the Center for Equity in Community is not free from manipulating her staff in order to get ahead. As we follow Girl through unemployment and an eventual position as the Director of Rebranding Knowledge Acquisition for My Company, McLaughlin and Kraus invite readers on a raucous journey though the ups and downs of early 21st Century corporate life.
While at times disjointed and overly crass, Citizen Girl certainly has its moments. Most post-grad women will be able to identify with Girl on at least some level, whether it be returning to Career Services with her tail between her legs or forgiving her boyfriend for hiring a stripper at his best friend's bachelor party. ("I turn to find Buster slumped on my front stoop, soaked to the skin behind a proffered bouquet of hopeful white tulips.")
Some readers may tire of Girl's particular combination of naivete and idealism after the first 50 pages, and the blatant stereotypes may wear thin after a while (Girl's boss at My Company is named Guy, and the woman they hire to turn things around is called Manley). Still, Girl's story is intriguing enough that by the end of the book, most of us will be rooting for her as she negotiates her way through the tumultuous battlefield that often is corporate America.
Citizen Girl is the sophomore effort from Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, whose Nanny Diaries sent Park Avenue mothers running for cover and catapulted the duo to cult-like status amongst gossip literature's elite. This time around, our heroine is Girl, a twentysomething women's studies major whose liberal arts education led her to believe that saving women from worldwide oppression was as easy as reporting for duty at her local feminist non-profit. As Girl soon learns, no job is ever as it seems, and even the director of the Center for Equity in Community is not free from manipulating her staff in order to get ahead. As we follow Girl through unemployment and an eventual position as the Director of Rebranding Knowledge Acquisition for My Company, McLaughlin and Kraus invite readers on a raucous journey though the ups and downs of early 21st Century corporate life.
While at times disjointed and overly crass, Citizen Girl certainly has its moments. Most post-grad women will be able to identify with Girl on at least some level, whether it be returning to Career Services with her tail between her legs or forgiving her boyfriend for hiring a stripper at his best friend's bachelor party. ("I turn to find Buster slumped on my front stoop, soaked to the skin behind a proffered bouquet of hopeful white tulips.")
Some readers may tire of Girl's particular combination of naivete and idealism after the first 50 pages, and the blatant stereotypes may wear thin after a while (Girl's boss at My Company is named Guy, and the woman they hire to turn things around is called Manley). Still, Girl's story is intriguing enough that by the end of the book, most of us will be rooting for her as she negotiates her way through the tumultuous battlefield that often is corporate America.
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Top Member Book Reviews
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
I thought this book was utterly third-rate. the authors' attempt to criticize high society ended up only revealing their own vapid materialism. i was embarrassed for them even as i read it
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Meh.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I can't believe I read this whole book. What a waste.
Maureen M. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Here's how I reviewed this book on Amazon:
After looking through all the reviews, I'm left with the feeling that a lot of readers didn't "get" this book. Tons of reviewers have called it "unrealistic" - it's a satire! It's not supposed to be completely realistic. And even so, I don't think that there was anything that happened in the book that made me think, "No way, that would NEVER happen!" Sure, some situations and characters were a little far-fetched, but there was nothing that was completely impossible. And as I said, it's a satire! Do you think Jonathan Swift really intended to eat babies? (That's not to say that these authors should be compared to Jonathan Swift, but you know what I mean.)
There are a few legitimate complaints that I do have about this book, though. The first is the writing style, which I found to be confusing and clunky. There were a number of times where I had to reread sections two or three times before I understood what was going on. I will also agree with the reviewers who said that the characters lack depth. On top of that, there were some characters that I was interested in who would disappear on an off (Jack, Buster) without any real explanation. And then there were really unnecessary characters whose purpose I couldn't figure out (Buster's friends, Stacey.) I enjoyed the storyline and felt that I could relate to Girl on some level, which is why I gave the book three stars, but I really feel that this story could have been SO much more than it turned out to be. This seems like the first draft of a really great novel, in my opinion.
After looking through all the reviews, I'm left with the feeling that a lot of readers didn't "get" this book. Tons of reviewers have called it "unrealistic" - it's a satire! It's not supposed to be completely realistic. And even so, I don't think that there was anything that happened in the book that made me think, "No way, that would NEVER happen!" Sure, some situations and characters were a little far-fetched, but there was nothing that was completely impossible. And as I said, it's a satire! Do you think Jonathan Swift really intended to eat babies? (That's not to say that these authors should be compared to Jonathan Swift, but you know what I mean.)
There are a few legitimate complaints that I do have about this book, though. The first is the writing style, which I found to be confusing and clunky. There were a number of times where I had to reread sections two or three times before I understood what was going on. I will also agree with the reviewers who said that the characters lack depth. On top of that, there were some characters that I was interested in who would disappear on an off (Jack, Buster) without any real explanation. And then there were really unnecessary characters whose purpose I couldn't figure out (Buster's friends, Stacey.) I enjoyed the storyline and felt that I could relate to Girl on some level, which is why I gave the book three stars, but I really feel that this story could have been SO much more than it turned out to be. This seems like the first draft of a really great novel, in my opinion.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I just couldn't get into this book and quit about half way through
Lissette H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Cute book, good satire on being a young post-collegiate woman trying to get by in the Manhattan working world as she desperately tries to hold onto her ethics.
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this book is fun, fresh, contemporary story of a young girl living in NY City.
A second novel from the Nanny Diaries authors. This is a funny look at twenty-something career building.
Read All Book Reviews of "Citizen Girl"
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